4.0
Quality3.3
Difficulty75%
Would Retake143
Reviews75%
Would Retake
143
Reviews
Rating DistributionOfficial
5
87
4
19
3
13
2
8
1
16
What Students Say
“Nice guy and very approachable”
CHEM2202 - 4.0 rating“Tends to assume you know a lot about the material, which is fine but fails to understand students taking the course only started with the material and haven't had decades of experience like he has”
CHEM2203 - 1.0 ratingClass Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
84%
Textbook Required
70%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.58 avg changeRatings by Course
3204
5.0
(5)3205
5.0
(1)ORGSTRUC
5.0
(2)ORGCHEM
5.0
(2)ORGANICI
5.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
CHEM2000
5.0
ORG1
5.0
ORGANICCHEM1
5.0
ORGAN1
4.0
ORGANIC
3.5
Reviews (143)
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Great class and lecturing skill
knows his stuff ver well and try to make subject easy for students
It was a fun class!
He knows his stuff very well.
He explains organic very well. He really seems to care about his students.
He explains organic chemistry very well but his exam is always very hard.
He makes organic very simple and interesting.
makes organic hard to understand
An excellent prof
I had him for organic chemistry and I think he is really good. You have to realize that this is organic chemistry and the material alone is very hard. He makes it so easy to follow and is always in a good mood. Great prof and I would really recomend him.
Dr. Ata is an excellent professor. He is very knowledgable about the subject he is teaching and makes sure that important information is understood.
Ata gives tons of examples in class, and makes concepts crystal clear. He is usually availabile, and is ALWAYS willing to help you out! Super Prof!
very interseting, nice, helpful, besdt prof, will marry him,!!!!!
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He is very knowledgable prof.
Makes organic chemistry very easy to follow!
This professor is great. He is one of the few profs that really cares about the students. It's always easier to learn from a prof who is cheerful and interested in the material he is teaching. Also, he is very willing to help out of class...
Dr. Ata is a very knowledgable prof. He is VERY eager to teach and he is very clear on what he's testing. His final was hard, but he warned us of that...so I didn't find it unfair. I really liked his class.
A great Prof, Always willing to help his students, tests are very fair. If you study you will do very well. Overall very good course and great Prof
Athar is a cool guy. He makes everybody feel at home with him. I dont regret everf working with him. Every moment I get in contact with him reminds me of a great prof. Keep it up Athar.
i had so much trouble following him because he talks so fast and a fairly thick accent. otherwise good class. ask him outside class for help.
He always gives clear concepts to the students to make this subject easy.
Overall so-so prof.... lectures are ok, but he tends to skip over really crucial information. Fair tests, but he is a very hard marker and can be rather inconsistent. Takes FOREVER to mark assignments/tests. Was not helpful at all when I went to ask questions about an assignment.
Ata is my favorite prof and one of the best at U of W. I only wish I were a chemistry major so that I could work under him. If you are going to take any organic, take it with Ata!
Dr. Ata gives ton of examples and makes easy to follow. I recommend him for organic chemistry.
I was very worried about taking this course, but prof. Ata made it great! He explains concepts very well, and is very willing to reconsider his grading if it is inconsistent. The course was hard, but the tests are straight forward as long as you know the concepts (most people who tried to memorize everything found the tests hard).
One of the best professors in the chem department. Makes the course interesting and enjoyable. If you listen (and learn his accent - which isn't hard) you will learn alot - enough to actually understand (not memorize) org. chem. GREAT PROFS MAKE GREAT COURSES!
this guy is a joke. i felt like i was watching the circus. only it wasnt entertaining. it was grating. his accent is ridiculous, and his voice is high pitched. sitting through his lectures was unbearable. takes the pleasure right out of science.
Dr Ata makes the subject understandable. He is really an awesome prof. Just follow his note.
Dr.Ata is the better proff to go with! this past year he made up the midterms so his classes had an advantage. Nice man willing to help however his accent challenges listening skills
He is one the best profs which I have had in my education career. He gives tons of examples and makes easy to understand. He tries to make understandable for whole classes. Sometimes, he speaks fast but if you ask him to slowdown and he will respect about your views. I would recommend to have him in organic chemistry.
Great at explaining. Lots of examples given in class. Makes organic chem tolerable.
I heard so many good things about this professor. But I find him to be too unapproachable. I don't know if he is just busy, distracted, proud, or rude. But NO, I don't find him especially helpful. And his accent/appearance is just, um, shall we say, unpleasant.
Prof. Ata tries to make organic chemistry very easy and crystal clear to understand. He cares about the students to understand the subject. I would suggest him for organic chemistry.
He makes subject easy for student to learn organic chemistry. His exams are fair and challenging. I would like to suggest him for organic chemistry.
ATA'S CLASSIC LINES :"YES GUYS" "I AM HONESTLY TELLING YOU.." "I TOLD YOU GUYS.." His lectures are awesome, just listen to what the guy has to say and you will remember what he taught you in class. Plus, the fact that he has an accent made me listen even harder! lol. He enjoys watching students cry during his hard exams, oh ata..
Goes a little fast, but is very knowledgable and has good tricks for making things easier.
MEAN and HARD TO UNDERSTAND. I had him for organic in spring and he went super fast, didn't help students who were lost and told us he didn't care if we all failed.
He knows how to make organic chemistry easy. Gives a lot of examples and available for help outside the calss. He provides a very clear concepts of organic chemistry. Somtimes, he speaks fast.
He is always clear what he is teaching. He does not use textbook examples and ask students to do these examples. I would suggest him for organic chemistry.
Haha, Ata is a diamond in the rough. It will take you a few classes to catch on to his accent, but don't azoom anything. He says he doesn't care, but he's lying. Chances are you will cry (or come close to it) in the final. The textbook should be glued to your face. His examples are good, do them at home.
very good prof. Really knows his material. very helpful too. i recommend him!
Although he knows his stuff really well, he has a hard time explaining it at students could at least pick out 1 mistake he made per class. Hopefully he was just rusty as I had him the year after he took a break from teaching. When i missed class due to a legitimate illness he was very unhelpful even when showing him a doctors note.
He knows his stuff very well and explains every thing in more details in the calss. He will give you so many examples to make subject easy and understanable. Although, he is available for extra help but he final exam is very hard.
This class is ridiculously hard and the prof doesn't help much in it. he just does examples in class and expects u to know all the material in the textbook. Final exam was brutal. avoid prof and class
He explains very well and always available for help. His exams are hards. His explanations are very helpful in understanding organic chemistry. Suggest to take his course.
I liked that he did a lot of examples on the board. Helped me understand the material better. He goes very fast with his examples so make sure you copy everything down because the board tends to get disorganized.
Overall so-so prof.... lectures are ok, but he tends to skip over really crucial information. Final exam did not cover everything that was need
Always available to help. Nice prof. and would suggest him.
Such a brilliant man! Amazing proff! Listen to him in lectures and take notes in class, he gives you plenty of examples and hints for exams! always available to answer questions and goes out of his way to make sure the class isnt falling behind. Easy midterms, hard final. But he warns u on the first day. Loved this class!
just so so. I survived by textbook
Ata's the man! I definitely would not have done as well as I did if he wasn't my prof. He explains it in a way so students get it, instead of running through it and moving on. Very helpful, loved him, would recommend him any day.
hey guys, this professor is helpful and makes orgaic so easy! he helped me learn all the mechanisms and i cant wait to take him next semester
Cute prof! I think he's absolutely adorable. I honestly only go to class to see his boyish grin
Great professor. He is funny and keeps you interested. his lectures are well organized and he makes you want to go to class. seeing the huge smile he always has will brighten your day
Took classes with McCubbin, Wood, and Ata. All three have their strengths and weaknesses. Ata goes through chapters FAST, but does tons of examples. Expect to take a lot of written notes, weak slide usage and online components. Sometimes expects too much and takes delight in the suffering of his students. If you learn by DOING, take Ata.
Ata's exams are made so that you MUST know exactly what is what and which is which. If you judge yourself even once, you're pretty much screwed. His test questions are fair if you know everything. Expect A) B) C) D)2 of the above and E)none of the above. Fair if you study 24/7
Amazing prof, very clear, dosent rush through the chapters, always offers office hours, all his exams by the lectures!! very recommended, makes organic easy and fun!
Terrible prof.. His exams are extremely difficult. He rushes all the chapters and is often disorganized in how he teaches. Avoid taking organic with Ata
Very helpful and makes easy to understand the reaction mechanisms. Ata makes sure you understand the subject.
Extremely disorganized professor which is something you want to avoid with organic. You must attend every class as he prepares nothing in advance and writes all of his notes from memory on the chalkboard. Makes organic more confusing then it needs to be and causes confusion. His class has no structure. Avoid taking this class with him!
Ata is great. He explains the material really well. Be warned his tests will be hard. But he's fair and will give you everything you need to know in his notes. He offers extra help all the time and additional review sessions before tests. Sometimes enjoys his students' suffering. STUDY and know your stuff
He is nice and helpful in explaining organic chemistry. Always available for help. Follow his notes and nothing would be difficult.
Ata is a great prof and knows his material very well. However, he is very disorganized! He is helpful in explaining concepts. Dont follow the textbook, because problems at the end of the chapter do not reflect material that is tested. Just do the synthesis problems, thats it! Study for the final in advance, and you will be fine.
Dr. Ata is a nice prof and teaches the concepts that makes organic chemistry easy. His examples are very helpful for the final exam
Dr. Ata is extremely disorganized! You MUST go to class, textbook helps conceptually but to do well on exams you must know every reaction and every mechanism that he covers, class is tough and he doesnt make it any easier. Having said that, attend his exam reviews, take good notes in class and you will do fine!
You have to take a lot of notes in the class and then follow his lectures, then you will do fine.
After you get used to the way he talks and teach he is a really fair guy. whatever he spends time on practice it, you need to be in class and understand what is going on and he is great at explaining the concept :) overall 910
Amazing prof and amazing teacher!
He makes sure you understand the concepts of organic. Always available to help. Tests and exams are hard and warns you in advance. Tough marker
I take back everything I ever may have said about Ata. He may be disorganized, and not the best for putting things online. But he's a very nice prof. He constantly has office hours and is willing to try to help you with questions, will to push your grade higher if he sees you understand, but just slipped up, and will put his neck out for you.
He is nice and would help when you are struggling. Always makes you to work hard!
He explains and applies concepts. It is very interesting course that applies basic chemistry concepts to NMR and Mass. Assignments were very challenging and Dr. Ata expects a lot from students.
This class is hard. Thank goodness Dr Ata teaches though. The material is actually quite fun but there are a million curve balls that throw you off. Each class is a practice assignment which is extremely helpful since the final is BRUTAL. Highly recommend taking this class though! It's fun hard work and Ata is always helping you throughout.
Good prof. Disorganized, but always around to help. Organic II is probably one of the most unnecessarily difficult courses I've taken. Can't imagine in any circumstance why one would have to memorize so many reactions. Literally hundreds of reactions that rarely ever come with a mechanism to put into context on top of those from Org I. Hard tests
Organic chemistry is a naturally difficult subject, but he tries to make it understandable. Rarely posts any notes to Nexus until the end of term. Always has excellent office hours, and is always willing to help you. I would retake Organic Chem with him over any other prof (especially Wood) in a heartbeat. Exams are brutal. GO TO CLASS!!
Ata is a good prof who helps a lot to make organic chemistry understandable. Tests and exams are hard but going to class and taking notes make this course easy. Probably he likes his students in pain.
I am surprised by some of the reviews that are posted. Of the eleven profs I have had at the UofW, he is definitely the worst. He has a powerpoint (adapted from McCubbin's class) for each chapter, but never follows it. He does all his stuff on the board quickly, never repeats, hard to understand. Also does not take questions well. Avoid if you can.
Very bad professor. Hard to follow (the blackboard ends up littered). He does a lot of examples, which would be nice if he actually explained some definitions well beforehand. Quite a few people I've talked to are on the same page as I am. I learned so much better using YouTube tutorials. I'm done with his class and will learn on my own time.
Org chem 1 is a very hard course but Ata tries to make it easy by giving too many examples. Always available for help. If you understand the way he writes on the board then it is easy to follow him. He likes to see his student crying compared to other sections where term tests are relatively very easy.
Good Prof! He explains organic chemistry well. Always available for help. Tests and exams are hard but doable with his lectures notes. I would suggest him for organic chemistry.
Lots of examples and practice which is needed for this course to do well. Always available to students and answers any questions. Offers reviews before tests and exams. Recommend him but be prepared and practice regularly.
Ata explains organic chemistry nicely with a lot of examples. Always available to help. Tests and exams are hard but warns you in advance.
Good prof overall. Like a lot of profs he is mostly business and does like to slip in his area of interest which is usually cool. Problem I see is everybody in the class in in pre-med or similar & only care about marks, not chem. He has a lot of time for students that work and are interested. Don't attend classes for any subject & marks suffer.
He's really great generally. The lectures look easy but they're really not. Lol. I highly recommend doing all the practice problems and you'll be just fine.
He offers a lot of help for this course. Explains the concepts nicely.
Ata is good in explaining concepts but he Marks tests very hard compared to other profs. Always willing to help when you approach him.
Ata does really care about his students, and is one of the nicest professors I have ever had, but I found that his lectures were all over the place. I had a hard time following, and his grading criteria is very tough.
Very Good Prof and always willing to help.
Best Professor!
He is a really good prof but he skimmed over some of the material. He is always available in his office and is always willing to help.
Really nice prof and makes sure that you understand the material. Tough grader but warns you in advance. Review sessions are helpful.
Ata, in my opinion, is very caring professor at this university. He will always give you help when you need it. His class is very hands-on and interactive and he tries to teach things in a way so everyone can understand what he is trying to say.
This prof is horrible, I planned to major in chem and won't take another class with him Incredibly unorganized, makes zero effort
Nice guy and very approachable. Plus he has review classes which can be helpful. But made the final more brutal than it should be. HARDEST CLASS EVER FOR ME.
Absolutely terrible, not sure why he is rated so well. Avoid at all costs
Avoid at all costs
Ata is an excellent organic professor. If you are going to take Organic Chemistry, take it with him. Tough grader but willing to help you to learn chemistry.
Overall good professor!
Nice professor and will make organic easy for you to understand if you follow his lectures.
His review sessions are very helpful. You need to understand his accent and then it is easy to follow his lectures.
Always willing to help. Gives a lot of examples and review sessions are very helpful for tests/exam.
Not very organized. Tends to assume you know a lot about the material, which is fine but fails to understand students taking the course only started with the material and haven't had decades of experience like he has. Does negative marking (takes marks off for guessing) which has no benefit because it makes students unwilling to answer anything.
Good prof. His lectures are fine and he makes sure that you understand organic chemistry.
Atas lectures are very helpful and he will drop hints about possible exam questions. Definitely attend his review classes. Go to him if you need help and he will assist. He is very reasonable and accommodating professor.
Very helpful professor.
not helpful and not approachable
Good Prof of chemistry.
Ata is very helpful and caring professor. His tests and exams are fair, and his review sessions prepare you for exams.
Ata is a very good professor and is always willing to help. His reviews are very helpful for tests and final exam. We should keep in mind that it is Organic Chemistry! Willing to take his other courses.
I took this course with Ata prior year, got an A on a midterm but ended up dropping. Took the course with McCubbin this year got the same grade. take McCubbin. They co-write the tests, but Ata fills lectures with a lot of info thats not required and makes it more confusing/clustered. Sometimes funny. Avoid if you prefer straightforward lectures
I wouldn't take a class with Dr. Ata ever again. I had him for ochem, which is a tough class, and was not helpful. His lectures were disorganized and fast. He's helpful outside of class, but not a very approachable person. If you're not understanding something, he will make you feel stupid. Avoid him.
Ata is a very passionate prof who clearly cares about teaching what he does and teaching it right. If you listen to the way Ata tells you to do things and put in time and effort, you will do well in his course. Midterms were easy while the final was brutal.
Dr. Ata was excellent! He went through a lot of examples to explain everything and was open to questions for clarification. There is a lot in this course, but he made the point of teaching it based on previous topics to make it clearer. It is a hard course, but if you do a lot of practice questions and go to class you can do well.
Dont take Ata if youre taking this class on Zoom. He had no sympathy for students and never responded to emails. He was extremely unclear about what we were talking about during lectures. His tests were not representative of the material we were taught and the final was completely unreasonable and extremely difficult.
The majority of the course ended up being self-taught because the professor was so unhelpful. He classes are more of a hasty review of the material. The content on tests was not taught in class and his reasoning was "well it's what you will see in other courses and tests" we HAD to buy the textbook and online access only to never use it in class.
Had Ata for Organic I and he did a lot of examples in the class. Always wiling to help.
Dr. Ata conveyed lecture material poorly and skimmed very important concepts. He gave a lot of examples during lecture but rarely gave context for them. Graded by tests/exam/lab, no assignments. The tests were medium difficulty, but the final exam was beyond brutal. Avoid this professor, especially if you struggle w/ online learning.
Ata is a very passionate teacher. He wants students to learn. Slightly boring but mainly due to the dry content. Make sure you go every class.
i spent more time writing this haiku about him than he did organizing this entire course. ata makes me mad; he is the worst prof i've had; he is very bad
Ata is the best professor I've ever had. Made chemistry enjoyable to learn. Used metaphors to make challenging concepts easier to grasp and always willing to meet for office hours. A chemistry nerd who loves what he teaches, funny guy, cares about his students!
Ata is a horrific prof in every way. His lecture content is disorganized, he answers no emails, his tests were riddled with mistakes (which he would deny when asked about) and he provided no practise problems the entire semester. If you want to do well, teach yourself from the textbook. Unfortunately he is also the head of the chem dept. Just AWFUL
Dr. Ata makes concepts easy, and his tests are fair if you study. He knows his stuff well, and overall, he is one of the best profs at the UofW.
Ata does not care about your questions and will not respond to your emails. He messed up assignments so that you would be unable to see what your grade was and what you got wrong. It made it impossible to study or to learn from your mistakes. He gives no examples and no practice questions. Don't take him you will only be teaching yourself.
Discouraging to a lot of first year students. Did not post slides for two weeks, did not offer practice questions. Went on a lecture about how we are not likely to succeed. However the tests were fair and the lab grade portion saved me.
Ata is a nice professor but his exams are tricky and challenging.
Seems nice but exams SO unfair. Taught myself using textbook which is why I did well. Taught things and then questions on exams MUCH harder and higher level so you would have to end up guessing and hoping it's right. He just expected us to know things and understand them after explaining it terribly. I have never been so disappointed with a prof.
Took Org Chem 2 with Ata in 2021. Very nice professor and recommend him.
Nice Organic Chem Professor. Review sessions are very helpful.
Ata's exam are very hard and he offers review sessions. Sometimes, he goes over the material very fast.
Ata did a lot of examples in this course that helped me in honour' thesis. I will strongly recommend this course and him.
Nice guy. Willing to help students.
Ata is a nice Org Chem guru. willing to help if you ask him. His exams are hard and he is a tough grader. Review sessions are helpful for tests and exams.
Nice prof. His lectures are fine and he makes sure that you understand organic chemistry.
Nice professor. Would recommend him.
Overall good instructor.
Took in Winter 2019. Got an A but I studied 40 hours for each test and exam. Really nice, go to office hours before and after exams clarification, and after to see what you got wrong if you don't understand it still. Wants you to do well.
I took Organic Chemistry I and II with Professor Ata in 2017 and had a positive experience. Professor Ata is knowledgeable and has quite crazy handwriting. He is very attuned to his students' understanding and is always willing to help. Completing all your homework really reinforces the lessons from class. I definitely recommend taking his courses!
Ata is a mixed bag - passionate but lectures can be dry. Attend class and self-study from the textbook to do well. unstuckstudy was really helpful for practice problems and exam prep.
Nice professor.
Ata is always willing to help. A lot of practice makes this course very easy to understand.
Class Info
Online Classes
100%
Attendance Mandatory
84%
Textbook Required
70%
Grade Predictor
Your expected effort level
Predicted Grade
A-
Grade Distribution
Common Tags
Rating Trend
Declining
-0.58 avg changeRatings by Course
3204
5.0
(5)3205
5.0
(1)ORGSTRUC
5.0
(2)ORGCHEM
5.0
(2)ORGANICI
5.0
(2)Difficulty by Course
CHEM2000
5.0
ORG1
5.0
ORGANICCHEM1
5.0
ORGAN1
4.0
ORGANIC
3.5